August

Year: 2011

Month: August

Staff bikes - Honda Crossrunner: You never stop learning

31 August 2011 by Phil West

Two thousand, three hundred and forty-seven miles can reveal a lot about a bike. Even about one you thought you already knew. Such has been my first couple of months with the Crossrunner. I picked it...

Scoop first ride! New KTM 690 Duke prototype

31 August 2011 by Andy Downes

The world’s most powerful single-cylinder bike will get more refined and yet more powerful next year, an MCN world first ride has revealed. MCN rode a prototype version of the 2012 KTM 690 Duke months...

Video: Which superbike for under £5000?

26 August 2011 by MCN

With the advent of electronics and near-200bhp power outputs, it’s easy to forget just how good the sports bikes of 2005 were. They had huge power – up to 160bhp – yet were tractable in the midrange,...

Hooligan Triumph Street Triple R café racer special

26 August 2011 by Michael Neeves

This Street Triple R is the latest in the line of brilliantly-executed specials created by Triumph dealer Jack Lilley. Designed to mimic the café racer style, it actually looks uncannily like any...

Staff bikes: Moto Guzzi Griso SE - V7 Classic snaffled by actress

25 August 2011 by John Westlake

Just when I was learning to love the V7 Classic and its gentle take on motorcycling life, it has been snatched away from me. Moto Guzzi have reclaimed it, and sent it on a far more glamourous mission:...

Staff bikes: Ducati Monster 1100 Evo - The modern cafe racer

25 August 2011 by Marc Abbott

Over the months that I’ve owned the Monster, many have asked me “What’s it like?” My default answer is “A real, good, honest motorcycle”. Which sounds like damning it with faint praise; that’s far...

Staff bikes: Suzuki GSR750 - Tail tidy improves GSR's rear

25 August 2011 by Liam Marsden

After riding the GSR for the first few miles there was only one modification that I could see needed to be made, to fit a tail tidy and get rid of the huge piece of plastic hanging off the rear end of...

Which used superbike for under £5000?

25 August 2011 by Adam Child

With the advent of electronics and near-200bhp power outputs, it’s easy to forget just how good the sports bikes of 2005 were. They had huge power – up to around 160bhp – yet were tractable in the...

Kawasaki VN1700 Voyager takes on the baggers

25 August 2011 by Adam Child

The imposing bulk of Kawasaki’s new VN1700 Voyager Custom has just landed on UK soil, sending a shudder through the large touring cruiser market. But how scared should the American competition be of...

Staff bikes: MV Agusta Brutale 920 - the highest mileage 2011 model

19 August 2011 by Andy Downes

MCN’s 2011 Brutale is now the highest mileage specimen in the UK, and possibly the world, after clicking through 4000 miles and its first major service. The scheduled service was carried out at MV...

Staff bikes: KTM Duke 125 - Duke to the Alps

19 August 2011 by Dan Aspel

This July I rode from Oundle (Cambridgeshire), to Interlaken (Switzerland) and back on my 125 Duke. The 2,000 mile, six-day route took me across country lanes, motorways, city streets, alpine passes...

Blown away: TTS supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa

11 August 2011 by Trevor Franklin

Suzuki’s 195bhp Hayabusa has never been a wallflower. But compared to this latest supercharged example, which has been built by tuning experts TTS of Silverstone and puts out a massive 283bhp with no...

Staff bikes: Suzuki GSR750 - GSR shines at wet Brands Hatch

11 August 2011 by Liam Marsden

I’ve now been on two track days and on both there’s been rain. Despite the fact like most motorcyclists I don’t like rain (I don’t mind getting wet, it’s more the inconsistent grip levels) I decided...

Video: KTM RC8R Track at Donington Park

10 August 2011 by Adam Child

Track days today are more like race paddocks from a few years ago. Find a KTM RC8R for sale. With club racing turning increasingly professional, brand new race bikes are becoming common. Enter the KTM...

First verdicts on 161bhp Motus V4 sports-tourer

10 August 2011 by Guy Procter

New American V4 sports-tourer the Motus MST-01 has completed the first leg of a multi-thousand-mile public development ride. The joyously coarse-sounding pushrod-actuated, direct-injected engine is...

Staff bikes: BMW G650GS - Corrosion sets in

09 August 2011 by Steve Farrell

I really like my G650GS. So I’m massively disappointed to report that the paintwork doesn’t seem to be up to much. Corrosion is already beginning to appear in places and it’s not yet had to endure a...

Harley Davidson XR1200 Challenge Brands GP 7th August

08 August 2011 by Michael Neeves

Well, that was a surprise. I didn’t think I’d enjoy racing a Harley so much, or do that well – I finished 7th in Sunday’s XR1200 Challenge feature race, less than two tenths behind 6th place after our...

Video: Triumph Daytona 675 buying guide

08 August 2011 by MCN

In our latest video buying guide we look at the Triumph Daytona 675. The 675 put the Hinckley firm back on the shortlist of many UK sports motorcycle riders, who hadn’t seen the previous middleweight...

MRO Powerbike blog: Brands Hatch Indy 30/31 July

05 August 2011 by Michael Neeves

Well, that was another fantastic weekend racing with Bemsee in the MRO Powerbike championship. Riding my BMW Park Lane S1000RR, we bagged three third positions, had some close racing with leaders Rob...

Kawasaki's VN1700 'bagger' rolls into UK

05 August 2011 by Trevor Franklin

The new, chopped-down, touring VN1700 Voyager Custom is the third bike in Kawasaki’s Voyager line-up to hit the UK and neatly fills a gap between the fully-dressed touring Voyager and laid-back,...

Benelli struggle on with style

04 August 2011 by Adam Child

Although Benelli hasn’t gone the way of compatriots Moto Morini (which went into administration last year), there’s no doubt it has been struggling, with model updates limited to minor revisions on a...

F4 RR is the best MV Agusta yet!

03 August 2011 by Michael Neeves

Our world-first test of the stunning new 201bhp F4 RR Corsacorta has revealed it to be not only the fastest MV Agusta we’ve ever ridden – but also the most refined. MCN rode the new £18k superbike at...

Vyrus 986 M2: The future of Moto2?

03 August 2011 by MCN

This is the 986 M2, a Honda CBR600RR-powered Moto2 racer, built by tiny Italian manufacturer Vyrus – or, in other words, one man called Ascanio Rodrigo. Ascanio helped develop the original Bimota Tesi...